Space:1999 was an epiphany for sci-fi fans in the mid-70s, appearing sporadically on TV worldwide 6 years after Star Trek but before Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica took over in 1977-1978. The first season was the most extravagant TV production in UK history, with lavish sets, weeks of production time, and cutting edge special effects.
It was a big hit in syndication until it wasn’t – Space:1999’s popularly faded as the second season aired, and actors and fans went their separate ways in 1976. The show still has a following 45 years later, and below we’ll outline which parts have aged poorly or well.
10 Hasn’t Aged Well: The Basic Premise
Space:1999 was based on the premise that a large nuclear explosion on the surface of the moon would set it hurling through outer-space, carrying the inhabitants of the moonbase on otherworldly adventures week-after-week. That the Moonbase Alpha crew had no ability to steer their course was part of the show’s appeal, with basic survival a higher priority then swashbuckling adventures.
But why store nuclear waste on the moon in the first place? And wouldn’t an explosion big enough to jar the moon out of orbit cause great damage, there and on earth? Dubious science to set the series in motion was one thing – but odd lunar encounters with black holes, alternate realities, and “mysterious forces” (below) strained the credibility of a near-future setting.
9 Aged Well: Moonbase Science
While some of the underlying science in Space:1999 was drafted for practical storytelling purposes, such as artificial gravity, hydroponics, and energy shields, much of the forecast technology holds up to present-day scrutiny. Key features that Alphans used each week such as the multifunctional communication devices, the moon buggies, and some of the medical technology (e.g. wrist-band monitoring) are in use today.
Contrary to other sci-fi shows, financial concerns for space exploration were often top-of-mind for our heroes and affected some of the stories. So the technological boundaries of Space 1999 were more realistic – aside from the initial nuclear explosion – and down-to-Earth, you might say.
8 Hasn’t Aged Well: Acting
The acting in Space:1999 is criticized in the same vein as some of the cast of Star Trek – effective for the time, but questionable in retrospect. Male lead (and Oscar winner) Martin Landau could be too dramatic and overbearing, and female lead Barbara Bain was so soft-spoken as to be inaudible.
Capable character actors like Barry Morse (Dr. Bergman) and some of the supporting cast were discarded for suspect reasons; although square-jawed, heroic pilot Alan Carter (played by Nick Tate) and elvin analyst Sandra Benes (Zenia Merton) were retained. English thespians like Brian Blessed, Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, and Joan Collins guest-starred to add gravitas to specific episodes; but for any actor in sci-fi, selling the technical jargon on “energy fields” and “time-space anomalies” can be a chore.
7 Aged Well – Production Values
Television audiences had never seen such a lavish sci-fi production, ever. Shoot on film even when video was the new broadcast standard, Space:1999 was produced like 48 mini-movies, with large, movable sets, elaborate costumes (below), and cutting edge special effects.
FX supervisor Bryan Johnson, who worked on 2001: A Space Odyssey, crafted effects techniques that have since been used in the industry for decades. Sure some alien and planetary sets were cheesy – but like its storytelling aspirations, Space:1999 always looked feasible and imposing.
6 Hasn’t Aged Well: Mysterious Forces
Radioactivity, gravity, and energy fields seemed to be a recurring threat on Space:1999, especially in the first season. Moonbase staff regularly battled against “forces beyond their control”, with bizarre occurrences and alien capabilities approaching the level of magic in their impact on the stories (e.g. resurrected people, time displacement, evil plants).
These mysterious forces made for poor villains over the course of the first season, and were often replaced with uninspired Outer Space Baddies in Season 2. “Space:1999” was interested in stretching the bounds of science fiction from the beginning, but could drift to the outlandish at times.
5 Aged Well: Costumes
The costumes on Space:1999 were important enough to the production that designer Rudi Gernreich was featured on each episode’s opening credits. Taking a page from Star Trek’s color-coded uniforms, Moonbase Alpha staff wore unisex uniforms with a single colored sleeve to denote their division.
True, the main cast had large 70s-styled collars and bell-bottom pants, but alien attire was intricate and otherworldly. The bright orange spacesuits appeared functional and based on scientific principles – Alphans were dressed as doctors and explorers, and less like the disco refugees of other productions.
4 Hasn’t Aged Well: Esoteric Stories
Over the early history of television and cinematic science fiction, there’s a prevalence of adventure stories (Buck Rogers, Lost in Space, Fantastical Voyage) or ruminations on the human condition (2001, THX-1138) – Space:1999 tried to have it both ways.
Episodes focusing on metaphysics, religiosity, and other dimensions were less appealing to a wide audience than those featuring action-adventure or morality plays. Season 2 would largely throw out the esoteric stories in favor of typical slices of action and humor, to the detriment of the production.
3 Aged Well: Starting and Ending
Viewers could count on each episode of Space: 1999 starting and ending well, because of the broadcast format. Each episode of the first season segued from a “cold-open” into quick cuts of the coming action, Mission: Impossible style, which made even the most esoteric story compelling. The timpani drums and ripping guitar of the theme song (or horns on Season 2) added to the excitement.
Especially in the initial episodes, a happy ending didn’t always await the residents of Moonbase Alpha. There was often a sense that the Alphans weren’t better off than before, and their survival in space may be short-lived. These pessimistic moments suggested a storytelling maturity and unfortunate sense of realism for an outer-space set TV series.
2 Hasn’t Aged Well: Aliens
Perhaps it’s not really the aliens that have aged poorly, but the creature designs themselves – and when you’re creating new, fantastic creatures on a weekly basis, they can’t all be winners. Some Space: 1999 extraterrestrials looked alien merely via hair and makeup, and there was no shortage of bug-eyed monsters, stuntmen in reptilian suits, and a memorable “glowing spaghetti” alien in The Bringers of Wonder.
Although dated, the multi-tentacled creature in Dragon’s Domain is still frightening; but the less said about the infamous The Rules of Luton – where the grouchy alien judges were simple English countryside trees – the better.
1 Aged Well: Eagles
When defining the appeal of Space:1999, fans talk about the costumes, the production design, and the special effects – but everyone lauds the Eagles, the distinctive mid-sized spacecraft that ferried our heroes to and from the moon. Designed to look space-worthy as well as utilitarian, these vehicles came to symbolize the intelligent aspirations of the show.
Thanks to 2001, spaceships in the 60s and 70s sci-fi were gleaming and sleek – in contrast, the Space: 1999 Eagles were refurbished work-horses, their look paving the way for the grease-stained, sandy vehicles in Star Wars (legend has it George Lucas visited the sets in 1975). Toys and models of the various Eagles are still available to purchase today, and their definitive look has been homaged in shows like Red Dwarf and Futurama.
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